Eternity
by DarkraiFanGirl
Summary: Nnoitora suddenly goes from his normal self to a complete emotional wreck. Nelliel wants to find out what's wrong, but when she does, she discovers something about Nnoitora she never would have imagined. My first Bleach fanfic, and my first songfic. Song is "Eternity" from the movie The Swan Princess. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

_**Hi there, it's DarkraiFanGirl. Well, here's the NnoiNel songfic I've mentioned once or twice in my other story, Love Knows No Boundaries. This is my first songfic, as well as my first Bleach fanfic, and I think I did all right, but I'll leave that judgment up to you guys. Also, I left a part of the lyrics out at the end. Well, here it is. The song used is "Eternity", from the movie The Swan Princess. Yeah, I named the songfic after the song. Oh, well. Enjoy**_

_**Eternity**_

Nnoitora crashed to the ground battered and defeated. He groaned and forced himself up onto his knees, gripping his Zanpakuto, Santa Teresa, for support.

_Shit, _he thought, _lost again. Every…fucking…time. _Even though it hurt him terribly to even move, he looked up at his opponent, 3rd Espada Nelliel Tu Odelshcwanck. She was turning to walk away, sheathing her sword.

"OK, we're done here." She said. "Thank goodness we finished in time for lunch. Those two always get so worried when I'm late…"

This upset Nnoitora even more than being defeated. _Again!_ _She defeats me and then just walks away! I can't take it!_

"Where the fuck do you think you're going, bitch?!" He shouted. "I thought I said this was a battle to the finish!"

Nelliel turned around. "You mean you want me to deal you the killing blow?"

"What else?" Nnoitora growled.

"I refuse."

Nnoitora closed his single violet eye and grimaced in frustration. _Damn it, not again…_

Nelliel continued. "You are a beast, not fit to be a warrior. And I refuse to stain my hands with the blood of one who is not a warrior." Nnoitora groaned, both in pain and because of Nelliel's words.

Nelliel continued. "There was a time, when we became Hollows, where we lost our sense of reason. When we became Arrancars, we regained that sense of reason. Rational beings need a reason to fight and kill. And you don't have one."

Nnoitora's eye snapped open as he roared, "I HAVE A REASON! I HATE YOU!"

Nelliel sighed. "That's not a reason, just an instinct."

She turned around. "I won't waste my breath on someone who doesn't even _want_ to understand. I'm done here." As she turned and walked away, she didn't realize that Nnoitora was watching her go, his fists clenched in the sand.

_She…doesn't even consider me…worth wasting her breath over… _His head dropped again. "Damn it, Nelliel…"

"Nnoitora, are you all right…"

Nnoitora whipped his head around. His Fracción, Tesla, was standing nearby, reaching out a hand to help Nnoitora up.

"Can you get up, Nnoitora?"

Tesla was answered by Nnoitora throwing his Zanpakuto at him. It hit the pillar behind him at a point just above him.

"We're not friends." Nnoitora snapped at him. "Don't assume we're equals just because I can't beat her, Tesla."

As Nnoitora struggled to his feet, Tesla asked,

"But Nelliel is just one of many Espadas. Why her?"

Nnoitora turned to face him and said in a low voice,

"I can't stand…the idea of a woman…defeating a man in battle." He turned away. "That's all."

With a painful grunt, he lifted Santa Teresa onto his shoulder and left without another word, leaving Tesla standing there pondering. Tesla had a feeling there was more to it than Nnoitora was letting on, but he knew from experience that it was a bad idea to pester his master about things.

Still, he worried about him.

"Master Nnoitora," He said to himself, "what's _really_ going on? What are you keeping from everyone? Whatever it is…I wish you wouldn't. It's clearly making you unhappy…"

…

Nnoitora wandered the halls of Las Noches, head hanging low, shoulders sagging, dragging Santa Teresa on the ground. He looked quite miserable, and felt as much.

When he was around the other Espadas, he managed to put on the cocky, "I-don't-give-two-shits" attitude that everyone was familiar with, even if they didn't like it.

But when he was alone, it became apparent that he was really quite miserable and sad, though he never let anyone see it for fear of appearing weak.

He leaned against a wall and sighed. Every day he found anyone and everyone he could to pick a fight with, seeking not only to gain strength, but also hoping to occupy his mind with other things. Yet try as he might, he could never clear his mind of the one thing-or rather, the one person, who constantly occupied his thoughts-_ Nelliel. _

Since the day the two of them had met, when Nnoitora had first become an Espada, he had been captivated by her, although she had not known. He had been entranced by her grace and beauty. He had followed her around secretly, infatuated. Before long, his infatuation grew to the point where it was no longer a mere infatuation.

…It was love. He was in love with her, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck, the 3rd Espada.

However, since she was ranked as the 3rd Espada while he was merely the 8th, the way he saw it, she was out of his reach, untouchable, too good for him. In his mind, they could never be together because he was not her equal.

So he had trained, trying to become stronger. He trained and trained, fighting opponent after opponent. Many days, he trained until he couldn't move from exhaustion. Eventually, once he felt he had trained enough, he challenged Nelliel to a fight, believing that if he won, he could consider himself her equal. Then he could finally confess his love to her.

…But it didn't go as planned. He had trained hard, but Nelliel was simply too far above him in rank. She had defeated him easily. He remembered clearly the disappointment and the pain- both physical and emotional- he felt as he had crashed to the ground in the first of many defeats he would face at her hands. He had lost. All of his training had been for nothing. She was still beyond his reach, still too far above him for him to even consider telling her of his love for her.

He remembered how he had picked himself and Santa Teresa up after she had left and trudged back to Las Noches, his body battered and his spirit broken.

He would proceed to challenge her time and time again, determined to win just once so that he could confess his love. But it never happened. She defeated him every time. Eventually the other Espadas noticed that he was constantly challenging Nelliel to fights. Since he couldn't admit to Nelliel that he loved her, in his mind, the other Espadas knowing would make him look weak.

So, much as he detested it, he started acting like he hated her. He started acting like he hated women being stronger than men, like he thought men should always be superior. In truth, he believed none of these things. It was all an act. But he felt like it had to be done.

So, every time he challenged Nelliel, he taunted her, called her foul names, spoke to her harshly, and said he hated her. It hurt him terribly to say these things, to lie right through his piano-key teeth to the woman he loved.

All this…all the misery…he let himself suffer because he was too much of a coward to admit that he was in love…

He was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. He turned to look, and there was Nelliel, walking down the hallway in his direction. He watched her approach without moving. He didn't feel like challenging her to a fight at that moment, though he was pretty sure she'd expect him to.

_Yeah…that's probably all she thinks of me as…the thorn in her side that's always trying to kick her ass but always getting _his_ ass kicked instead. She's already told me she doesn't wanna waste her time on me…_

Once Nelliel reached Nnoitora, she stopped and looked at him. He looked her in the eye. Sure enough, she looked apprehensive and slightly tense, as if she expected him to strike. Nnoitora shook his head.

"I'm not gonna challenge you, Nelliel." He said, dropping his head again so she wouldn't see the misery in his face. "I'm not in the mood…" He added quietly.

Nelliel looked at him questioningly, then turned and walked away. Nnoitora watched her go, a look of sadness and longing on his face that would make you sad by just seeing it. As he watched her go, he lamented to himself:

"…Why, Nelliel? Why do you have to be so…untouchable, so out of reach? You're so far above me…I've no chance of ever gaining your love. And yet…I continue to long for you with every ounce of my being. The one thing I want more than anything else…is the one thing I have the least chance of ever getting." He looked down at the ground, his single eye sparkling with unshed tears. He blinked them away.

"…Nelliel. If only you knew. If only you knew what you meant to me…how I _really_ felt about you. If I could just drop the angry asshole act and tell you. But…I'm just too much of a fuckin' pussy to tell you…that I love you."

A single tear fell from his eye as he closed it.

_**I knew that we belonged together**_

_**long before I knew your name**_

_**And the only thing I longed for**_

_**was a sign to prove you felt the same**_

_**Somehow I knew your every secret **_

_**just from looking in your eyes**_

_**From the very moment I met you**_

_**I was thinking of the rest of our lives**_

_**Just say to me…**_

"I wish I could tell you…"

_**I'm gonna love you 'til the end of time**_

_**Somehow two hearts have made a friend of time**_

_**Eternity**_

_**Eternity**_

_**Is on our side**_

…

After a few weeks of the same routine, Nnoitora had fallen into a state of deep depression. He no longer challenged people to fights every chance he got, or at all for that matter, because he no longer had the desire or the strength to do so. Most of the time, he just wandered the halls of Las Noches in a miserable stupor, hardly knowing or caring where he was. Whenever he saw Nelliel or passed by her, it was all he could do to stop himself from breaking down and crying.

He knew he was like this because he was holding in his feelings for Nelliel, yet he _still _couldn't bring himself to confess his love for her. He was afraid that if he did not tell her, he might go insane. Yet he could not muster the courage to do so.

Of course, none of this had escaped the notice of the other Espadas and their Fracciónes. However, most of them saw this as an improvement. They tired of him constantly fighting everyone. And the rest, for the most part, did not care.

There was only one who _did _care, for the most part- Nnoitora's Fracción, Tesla. Tesla, devoted as he was to Nnoitora, was naturally worried sick about his master. He was constantly casting worried looks in his direction, constantly asking what was wrong. Finally, Nnoitora decided to tell Tesla about his feelings for Nelliel, but not without threatening to run him through with Santa Teresa if he dared to tell anyone.

Once Tesla found out about this, he honestly thought it was a lost cause and tried in subtle ways to dissuade Nnoitora from desiring Nelliel, in an attempt to save his master from being hurt emotionally. As would be expected, he found no success. He gave up after an incident in which, frustrated from watching his master pine for Nelliel, he told him flat out;

"What point is there in seeking after something or someone you know you can never have, Master Nnoitora?! Why can't you just realize that you two aren't meant to be and _move on?!"_

…Unfortunately for Tesla, Nnoitora was still in the early stages of his depression, so this outburst only succeeded in enraging him. Before he knew it, Nnoitora had slashed him across the face with Santa Teresa, taking out his right eye. He had to wear an eyepatch after that.

Through this all, Nelliel somehow remained ignorant of the suffering and misery that Nnoitora was going through. She was only aware that he had stopped fighting everyone, and the only reason she knew this was because he had stopped trying to fight _her_.

However, one day she got a chance to see the full extent of his depression up close…

Nelliel was walking down a hallway in Las Noches she heard what sounded like a dry sob. She turned her head and saw Nnoitora slumped against a wall, his head hanging and his hair covering the top half of his face.

She approached him cautiously. Though he hadn't tried to fight her- or anyone, apparently- for several weeks, she was still on her guard. She stood next to him for a moment, unsure what to do. He didn't move. Nelliel had the feeling that he hadn't noticed her. She said hesitantly,

"…Nnoitora?"

Nnoitora gave a small grunt and lifted his head slightly. He looked Nelliel in the eye, and she gasped softly.

He looked like he was ill. His skin was terribly pale, and his eye was sunken and had such a dark ring under it that it looked like he had a black eye, or as if he hadn't slept in days. But the worst part overall was the look in the eye itself, a look of intense suffering and misery. As soon as Nnoitora looked at Nelliel, his eye glazed over with a film of tears.

"…Nelliel…" He said in a choked voice.

Nelliel couldn't believe what she was seeing. _What's wrong with Nnoitora?! Why does he look so miserable?_

"Nnoitora…" she managed to say. But other than that, she was speechless.

After a few moments, Nnoitora dropped his head again, turned and slouched away, dragging Santa Teresa behind him since he no longer had the strength to lift it. Nelliel watched him go, shocked. She couldn't believe what she had seen.

_Something's wrong with Nnoitora… _she thought, _something's causing him a great deal of misery and suffering. I…I have to do something. He may be my enemy (even if it is self-proclaimed), but I just can't stand to see him like that!_

…

A short while later, Nelliel was walking down the corridor that led to Nnoitora's room. Along the way, she passed by Tesla, who looked extremely worried. _That's understandable. _She thought._ He _is_ Nnoitora's Fracción. I'm sure he's very worried about him… _

But then, when Tesla noticed her, he became very angry and glared menacingly at her. This shocked her. _What have I done? _She thought, bemused. She tried to brush it off, but when she walked past Tesla, he growled in a low voice;

"If I weren't a lowly Fracción, I would challenge you right here and now for the pain and suffering you have caused Master Nnoitora…" As he said this, he held the hilt of his sword, no doubt longing to unsheathe it and strike her. Yet he refrained, knowing that she was capable of defeating him with a single blow.

His ferocity completely threw Nelliel off. Why was he acting so vicious towards her? And what was this about the pain and suffering that _she_ had caused Nnoitora? As far as she knew, she had not caused him any misery.

She walked on past Tesla, rather unnerved now.

She reached Nnoitora's room and knocked on the door. There was no response, but Nelliel thought she heard a muffled sob. She opened the door and let herself in. She had never been in Nnoitora's room before.

It was rather plainly furnished. The walls were white, and the floor had black carpet. There were two beds, one considerably larger than the other, each with black bedspreads. There was some basic furniture, a desk in one corner, and a couple of lamps. There was also a small weapons rack along one wall for Nnoitora and Tesla to place their swords when not in use.

Nelliel turned to the larger bed and saw Nnoitora laying facedown on it, his face buried in the pillow, clinging to the bedspread, shaking with sobs. It was a saddening sight, and it nearly brought tears to Nelliel's own eyes. She walked over to the bed and touched Nnoitora gently on the shoulder while calling his name softly.

"…Nnoitora?"

Nnoitora flinched, then raised his head to look and see who had touched him. The right side of his face was stained with tears, and more of them filled his eye.

"…Nelliel?" He said in a raspy voice. "What…what are you doing here?"

"I came…to see…how you're…doing." She knew it didn't sound appropriate for the situation, but she couldn't think of anything better to say.

Nelliel looked at Nnoitora. She had never seen someone so miserable before, and out of everyone she knew, the last individual she expected to end up like this was _him. _She stared at Nnoitora, and he stared back through a haze of misery.

All Nnoitora said in response was, "…Oh."

But that "oh" snapped Nelliel back to her senses. She looked him in the eye and said,

"…Nnoitora, what has happened to you? What's going on? A few weeks back you were your normal self, and now look at you! You're an emotional wreck! _What's wrong?!_"

Nnoitora looked away. He seemed to be thinking. Finally, he said, "I guess it's _my _fault, really."

"_Your _fault? How?"

Nnoitora looked Nelliel in the eye. "Because I'm a coward." Before Nelliel could say anything, he continued. "I have…feelings that I'm too afraid to admit to anyone that I have. So I keep them to myself, but the emotional strain is apparently more than I can handle. It's taking its toll on me, but I _still _can't bring myself to tell anyone. I guess I'm such a coward that I'd rather suffer than express myself…"

Nelliel just stared at Nnoitora, not knowing what to say. _So _this_ is the cause of his misery? _She thought. _He's holding in feelings he ought to let out? _She looked at Nnoitora sadly, wishing she could think of a way to help him.

She sat down on the edge of his bed and said in a soft voice,

"Nnoitora, please sit up."

Nnoitora got up and sat himself next to Nelliel. Nelliel placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nnoitora…" She said quietly, "I don't know how I can help you with this, but the least I can do is offer you some comfort. Perhaps it can ease your suffering a bit."

She took off her glove and cupped her hand over his cheek. He looked at her, surprised, but then he relaxed and leaned his head into her hand. Nelliel stared at him sadly.

_I can't believe this is what he's been reduced to… it's a terrible thing to witness…_

"Nnoitora…" she said, "I know you don't like me, but…I don't bear any ill will towards you. If you ever needed me, I would be there for you without hesitation. If you needed someone to protect you if you were in danger, I'd protect you, even if you didn't appreciate it. If you ever needed someone to talk to or to just _be there_ for you when you were sad or upset, I'd be there in an instant."

"You may not realize it, Nnoitora, but I do care about you. I don't like seeing you like this. Honestly, whatever feelings you're holding in can't _possibly _be as bad as what you're going through because you're holding them in, can they?"

Nnoitora shook his head. "No…" he whispered.

Nelliel took her hand off of Nnoitora's cheek and gently guided his head onto her shoulder. He let out a small "Huh?" of surprise. Then his eye started to tear up, and he gripped the material of Nelliel's jacket with one hand.

Seeing Nnoitora about to cry, Nelliel placed her hand on his back and began to rub it in a slow, soothing manner. He soon relaxed, though he kept a slackened grip on her jacket. Nelliel spoke to Nnoitora reassuringly.

"There, Nnoitora. Be at peace. Things will all work out in the end. Have courage, and do what needs to be done. You'll be okay, I know you will. Remember, I'll always be here for you."

She continued to rub his back, and after a while, she realized that Nnoitora had fallen asleep on her shoulder. She smiled, thinking, _That's good. He needed some rest._

She stood up and gently laid him back down on his bed. He began to fidget in his sleep, so she rubbed his back again, and he stilled. She sighed, wishing she could do more to help him.

Nelliel walked over to the door. As she reached it, she turned back to look at Nnoitora, who was sleeping soundly. She said quietly, "I wish you the best of luck, Nnoitora. I really hope you can work through all of this…"

She opened the door and walked out, glad to have finally gotten an opportunity to show Nnoitora that she cared…

…

The next day, Nnoitora woke up. As he lay on his bed, he remembered what had happened the night before. He kept replaying Nelliel's kind words over and over in his head, enjoying the warm feeling they gave him.

"…_Nnoitora…I don't hate you..."_

"…_I don't like seeing you like this..."_

"…_If you ever need someone to talk to or to just be there when you're sad or upset, I'm here..."_

"…_I'll always be here for you…"_

_So she's cared all along… _He thought. _What a fool I've been. I shouldn't have been such a coward. I should have told her a long time ago…_

At that thought, he jumped up from his bed, suddenly filled with determination.

"I've waited too damn long. She clearly cares about me, so what the fuck am I wait for? Waiting's over, this coward shit's over. I gotta tell her. _Now_."

With his newfound courage, fueled by the thought of Nelliel's kindness the night before, he strode over to the door and opened it. He hesitated for just a moment. _Here I come, Nelliel. Hope you're ready… _He opened the door and strode out to find Nelliel.

_**I'm not afraid to say forever**_

_**You have made me feel so sure**_

'_**Cause I know it's everlasting**_

_**And I've never had this feeling before**_

**...**

Nelliel was lost in worry over Nnoitora as she wandered through Las Noches. She wanted so badly to help him, but she didn't know everything about what was going on._ I _have _to find out what's wrong with him. _She thought urgently. _I'm going back to his room, and I'm not leaving him alone until he tells me the whole story. _She turned down a hallway headed towards Nnoitora's room.

But along the way, she thought, _Hmm…he might not even _be_ in his room…_ However, she encountered Tesla along the way. She had completely forgotten about Tesla's attitude towards her in their previous encounter. She walked right up to him and said, "Oh, Tesla! Do you know if Nnoitora is in his room?"

Tesla's remaining eye darkened with anger. "You…why do you insist on forcing your presence upon Master Nnoitora?! Don't you realize you're only making him suffer more by constantly being around him?!"

Shocked, Nelliel took a couple of steps back.

"Tesla," she said, "What are you talking about? How am _I _causing Nnoitora any suffering? I haven't done anything to him!"

"That's what _you _think." Tesla replied.

"…What?"

Tesla paused, a strange expression crossing his face. He seemed to be going through some kind of internal struggle. Finally, he sighed and said to himself,

"Forgive me, Master Nnoitora, but I must disobey you…"

He looked at Nelliel and began to speak in a low voice.

"You ask how you are causing Master Nnoitora suffering?"

"Yes."

Tesla nodded curtly. "I assume you're under the impression that Nnoitora hates you with every fiber of his being, am I correct?"

"It certainly seems that way…"

"You're wrong. The opposite is true."

Nelliel was confused. "The opposite? What do you mean, Tesla?"

Tesla slowly drew in a breath before speaking. "Master Nnoitora has never hated you. He told me that he has been madly in love with you from the day he met you, almost to the point of an obsession. But, he admitted, he felt that he was inferior to you, since you were and still are five ranks above him as an Espada. That feeling of inferiority was the main thing that stopped him from telling you that he loved you. He felt that he was unworthy of your love."

_Oh wow… _Nelliel thought. _How could he think that?_

"To him, the answer was obvious: he had to train and become stronger, so that he would, in time, be your equal and thus be worthy of you. He felt that, if he could challenge you and defeat you, just once, that he would have accomplished that goal. But he has never succeeded; you've defeated him every single time. Even now, he still feels that, until he can defeat you even once, he cannot confess his love for you."

_So _that's _why he's always challenging me to fights… _Nelliel thought. She was shocked by what Tesla was telling her.

"But wait, Tesla. If he's in love with me, why does he always act like he hates me?"

Tesla paused a moment before answering. "You know how he hates appearing weak (although now he is too depressed to care). He felt that the other Espadas seeing him trying and failing to win the heart of another would make him appear _very _weak. So, in an attempt to preserve his image, he put on a show of anger and hatred. It isn't real; it's all an act."

…_Oh. _

"Do you understand now? _That_ is how you are the cause of Master Nnoitora's suffering. You are out of his reach, and by remaining so, you make him suffer. As long as he cannot confess his love for you, he will be miserable and he will remain like this. Or," Tesla said, now talking more to himself, "he could fall into an even worse state. He could end up getting so weak that he could…" His sentence broke off, but Nelliel knew what he was thinking, and she understood him not wanting to think about the possibility of his master dying out loud.

_I don't completely agree with Tesla, _she thought, _but he has made me realize some things. All this time, Nnoitora has felt this way about me, and I have remained completely ignorant. What's worse, I've been quite cold and cruel to him at times. When I defeat him and he gets angry, rather than wonder_ why _he's angry, I simply say that he's a beast, that he's not fit to be a warrior, I've called him weak, and other unkind things. This _is _my fault…_

Without warning, she dashed past Tesla down the hallway, making a beeline for Nnoitora's room.

_I've got to find him. I've got to find Nnoitora and fix this…before it's too late…_

…

Nelliel turned a corner, but before she could pick up speed, she collided with someone. She fell to the ground, dazed.

"Oof! …Huh? Nelliel?" An Arrancar's voice spoke from above her.

Nelliel looked up, and there was Nnoitora, rubbing his midsection and looking at her questioningly. Nelliel noticed that he didn't have Santa Teresa with him, which she found mildly surprising, since he normally took it everywhere. But right now, that wasn't important.

"…! Nnoitora!" Nelliel scrambled to her feet.

"…Nelliel." Nnoitora said quietly. "I've been looking for you."

"…You have?"

Nnoitora nodded. "Yes. There's…something I need to tell you. Something I should've told you long ago…"

"Oh!" Nelliel put her hand on Nnoitora's arm. "Nnoitora, I…I already know."

Nnoitora's eye widened in surprise. "Wha-? You already know? How?"

"Tesla…told me."

Nnoitora sighed and shook his head. "I told him not to tell anyone…"

Nelliel became stern for a moment. "You're not going to punish him for telling me, _are you_?

Nnoitora shook his head. "No…"

Nelliel nodded. Then, she remembered what she had found him for.

"Nnoitora, I'm sorry…"

Nnoitora looked at her. "For what?"

Nelliel took off her gloves and took Nnoitora's hands in her own.

"It's all my fault that you've been so miserable. I didn't realize you had feelings for me. I kept beating you time and time again, and then I'd put you down with words too. I didn't realize what it was doing to you. I'm so sorry, Nnoitora." She looked up at him, and there were tears filling her eyes and running down her cheeks.

There were a lot of things running through Nnoitora's head at the moment, but above all else, he couldn't stand to see the woman of his dreams in tears. He lifted his hand and gently wiped the tears from Nelliel's eyes. He kept his hand cupped around her cheek as he looked her in the eyes and said,

"It's not your fault. If I wasn't such a coward, if I hadn't felt so inferior because of my low rank as an Espada, if I had realized that you did care about me sooner…I would have told you a long time ago, and I wouldn't have let myself get like this. It's not your fault, Nelliel. It's mine."

"Oh, Nnoitora…I don't care what rank you are. You could be the weakest Fracción in Las Noches and it wouldn't make any difference to me!"

Nnoitora smiled weakly. "If only my mind worked the way yours does…" He stroked her cheek with his thumb as he said,

"Last night, when you came to my room and comforted me when I was upset and in tears…that's what I needed. That gave me the courage and the strength to do this." He kept one hand on her cheek and put the other around her waist, drawing her closer to him. He looked her right in the eye with an intense gaze as he spoke.

"Nelliel…I think you are the most wonderful individual I have ever met. You're beautiful, and to me, you are the embodiment of a true warrior. You are strong, both in body and in spirit. You are always calm and collected, no matter the situation. You're loyal to your leader and your friends. You're smart, you're easy-going and a pleasure to be around. What's not to love about you?"

Nelliel was at a loss for words. _Nnoitora…_

_**Keep telling me…**_

Nnoitora continued, his voice suddenly full of passion, "I love you more than words can ever come_ close_ to expressing. I want nothing more or less than to spend eternity with you. I don't care what anyone else thinks. Hell, I would even defy Aizen himself for you. I hope I don't have to…but I would."

_**I'm gonna love you 'til the end of time**_

_**Somehow two hearts have made a friend of time  
Eternity**_

_**I'll love you for**_

_**Eternity**_

Nelliel was swept away by Nnoitora's confession. She looked up at him and saw that he was looking at her nervously. He spoke haltingly.

"So, uh…now I have to ask you…Nelliel. Do you…think you can…accept my love?" He clasped her hands in his own and looked at her with a pleading look in his eye.

"Please, Nelliel. You have _no idea_ how much you mean to me. If you turned me down, I know it sounds cliché, but…I don't think I could live without you. I'd probably die of a broken heart, if I didn't kill myself first." He gently cupped her face in his hands. "Please, Nelliel. I'm not trying to scare you, that's just how important you are to me."

Of course, Nelliel's answer was "yes", but she was too overcome with emotion to speak just then. So she drew closer to Nnoitora and rested her head on his chest. He let out a small gasp of surprise, but then he too was overwhelmed with emotion.

"…Nelliel…" He said in a choked voice as he put his arm around her. Finally, Nelliel found her voice.

"Nnoitora…I don't know what to say. How could I possibly say no? I just wish…you'd told me sooner…"

Nnoitora put his other arm around Nelliel, drawing her into a loving embrace. Nelliel buried her face in Nnoitora's chest, while Nnoitora buried _his _face in Nelliel's flowing green tresses. Once they broke apart and gazed into one another's eyes, Nelliel saw that Nnoitora's eye, though just as sunken and shadowy as it had been for a while now, had a warm glow in it that gave his pale, tired face more life than Nelliel had ever seen in it before. She knew that the glow was a reflection of the love that Nnoitora felt for her.

Without warning, Nnoitora picked Nelliel up bridal-style and brought his face close to hers so their faces were only a couple of inches apart.

"Nelliel…" he said softly, "Thank you. You've given me more than I ever expected I would get. I don't know when I've ever been happier. I promise, you won't regret it. The angry, hateful act I put on…that's not the real me. I'm much more pleasant when I show my true self. I promise, I won't disappoint you."

Nelliel smiled and cupped Nnoitora's cheek in her hand. Once again at a loss for words, she just nodded.

_I'm not worried, Nnoitora. _She thought. _I have faith in you…_

_**Caught in the tide**_

_**And it brought me to you**_

Nnoitora smiled back and brought his face closer to Nelliel's.

_**Under a spell**_

They gazed into one another's eyes for a moment, then closed them as their lips met in a tender but passionate kiss.

_**And now I know that dreams come true**_

_**I'm gonna love you 'til the end of time**_

_**Somehow two hearts have made a friend of time**_

_**Eternity**_

_**Eternity**_

_**Is on our side**_

As the two were locked in their kiss, Tesla watched from a distance away. When Nelliel had run off without warning, he had followed close behind. He had seen and heard everything, and now he nodded approvingly.

"So it all worked out in the end." He said to himself. "I'm sorry I disobeyed you, Master Nnoitora, but maybe…it was the right thing to do."

…

Nelliel and Nnoitora broke off from their kiss and looked one another in the eye, each feeling as if they could gaze into the other's eyes forever.

Then a thought struck Nelliel. "I wonder if Aizen will approve of this…"

"Hmph. I don't care if he does or not."

"I know, Nnoitora, but openly defying Aizen would be _asking_ for trouble. I don't want to cause trouble, and I know you don't either."

"Hmm…I dunno. I guess we'll have to deal with it if the situation arises."

Nelliel nodded. "I guess so…" She looked at Nnoitora, who was still holding her bridal-style. She wrapped one arm around his neck and wove the fingers of the other hand through his silky black hair. He smiled and kissed her softly on the forehead. Then a thought he found interesting crossed his mind. He chuckled and shared it with Nelliel.

"Ya know, Nelliel, I've heard of humans who are in love vowing to spend eternity together. But then, they get old and die. It's like, hey, what happened to 'eternity'?"

Nelliel nodded to show that she was listening. Nnoitora continued.

"But you and me, we're Arrancars. We're not gonna get old and die like humans. We already died once, when _we _were human. Now old age can't touch us, not easily. We really do have eternity to spend together." He took his hand and drew Nelliel's face close to his again. He smiled as he said,

"We'd better make the most of it. It's gonna go by fast."

They both chuckled before enjoying another passionate kiss. Both of them had the same thing on their mind.

_I'm glad things turned out this way…_

_**Eternity**_

_**I'll love you for**_

_**Eternity**_

…

_**So, what did you think? I'm leaving it as "In-Progress" because I'm debating whether or not to write an epilogue. What do you guys think? Should I write an epilogue? Leave me a review telling me what you thought of the story and if you think I should write an epilogue or not. Your opinions are appreciated, and getting reviews makes me really happy!**_

_** As always, thank you for your support.**_


	2. Author's Note

_**Hey, it's DarkraiFanGirl. I don't even know if it's necessary to do this but, I wanted to let you guys know that I'm still here and still working on this story.**_

___I decided to do the epilogue. I'm working on it, but I'm kinda stuck. Please stay with me; I will get it finished, hopefully before too long. I hope those of you who have read my story already liked it. You know, I have a lot of ideas in my head, and most of them are pretty good; so really, I should have a lot more than 2 fanfics. I don't know why I don't…_

_ Oh, well. I got kinda off topic there. Anyway, bear with me. I will do my best to finish the epilogue as quickly as I can. Wish me luck!_

**~DarkraiFanGirl**


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